In Chinese history, I think the person who created the most jokes and humorous stories between words and deeds in daily life was Su Dongpo.
When Wang Shizhen, a famous scholar in the Ming Dynasty, edited "Su Changgong's Wai Ji", he specially compiled Su Shi's humorous quotations into "Tiaojie Bian". A few selected ones are as follows:
Seven-point reading
Qin Shaozhang tasted the cloud: "Guo Gongfu passed through Hangzhou and wrote a poem on the east slope. He first recited it by himself, and the sound vibrated around him. After that, he asked Poe, "How many points does Xiangzheng have for this poem?" Poe said, "Ten points." "
I follow the crowd
Po Gong was in Weiyang. One day he hosted guests, more than ten of whom were famous people. Mi Yuanzhang is also present. After half a drink, Yuan Zhang suddenly stood up and praised himself, saying: "Everyone in the world regards Fu as their epileptic disorder. I hope my son will see it." The public laughed and said, "I follow the crowd."
Words
When Dongpo heard that Jinggong's "Zi Shuo" was newly completed, he jokingly said: "If you use 'bamboo' to whip 'horses' as 'du', you don't know how to use 'bamboo' to whip' dogs. What's so funny about it?" The Duke asked again: "Is there any evidence that the word 'jiu' comes from 'nine' and from 'bird'?" Po Yun: ""Poem" says: 'The dove is in the mulberry, and its son is seven.' He Ye and his mother , Exactly nine." The public listened happily, and after a while, he finally realized the joke.
Leave no poems
When Mr. Huang was in Huangzhou, every time there was a banquet, he would be drunk and ink, and he would not hesitate to talk to others. As for the prostitutes who serve as servants, fans, books and paintings, they also happen from time to time. There is Li Qi, who is smart and knows the letters quite well, and Po is also happy every time he reads them. In the end, he never got the gift from the public. When the Duke moved to Rujun, he visited his ancestors, served them wine, and then bowed to him, took his scarf, and begged for letters. After watching it for a long time, he ordered Qi to grind the inkstone and write with thick ink: "Dongpo lived in Huangzhou when he was seven years old. Why did he have nothing to say about Li Qi?" He threw the pen and joked with the guests. The guests said to each other: "The words are like ordinary things, but they are not the end of the story. Why?" When he was about to remove his clothes, Qi paid his respects again. Poe laughed and said: "I almost forgot to show up." Jishu said: "It's just like the Du Gongbu in Xichuan. Although Begonia is good, it doesn't leave any poems." As soon as he sat down to hit the knot, he left happily. Which one is better for real money spin?
There are many records of Su Dongpo's talking, laughing and joking in the works of the Song Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Su Dongpo has been regarded as a source of humor by novelists, and many stories have been fictionalized, interpreted, and appended to his name. There were many jokes between Su Dongpo, Su Xiaomei and the monk Foyin.
It is certain that some of the jokes that were circulated later were not necessarily Su Dongpo’s original works. However, judging from Su Dongpo's own poems and works, especially "Dongpo Zhilin", we can see that he was indeed a very humorous person. He was full of witty remarks and witty remarks. He was rare among literati throughout the ages.
So, we can’t help but ask: Why is Su Dongpo so humorous?
Perhaps some friends will say: This question is very simple, because Su Dongpo is talented and has a cheerful personality.
I think that in addition to talent and character, there are three reasons:
First, bravery. The Song Dynasty's imperial examinations had extremely strict rules on wording and allusion. However, Su Shi had the gall to fabricate dialogues between ancient sages and sages in the examination paper ("Gao Tao said three things about killing, Yao said three things about forgiveness"). You know, if the examiner discovers that it is not from a classic work, there is only one ending for him, and that is: losing his reputation. One candidate was almost judged because he used "strategy plan" instead of "strategy plan" in the paper. The examiner only knew that "strategy plan" came from "Hanshu" but did not know that "strategize plan account" came from "Historical Records". qualified. It can be seen that when Su Shi was young, his boldness in language was unmatched by others. Later, he was accused of ridiculing powerful people in his poems and was imprisoned in the royal prison - Dali Temple Prison. Cai Jing's son Cai Suan also said in his book "Tiewei Shan Cong Tan" that after Su Shi became a Jinshi and became an official in the court, he liked to "insult all the ministers with his talents" and liked to give them nicknames. The only person Su Shi did not dare to make fun of was Sima Guang. Once he returned home after arguing with Sima Guang about government affairs. He took off his coat and shouted repeatedly: "Sima Niu! Sima Niu!" He was brave, and he liked to have his own ideas. If he had a belly that was out of place, Su Shi would naturally do it. Say a lot of sarcastic words about dignitaries.
The second is sensitivity. Su Shi once wrote a poem "Xi'er Xi Zuo": "Everyone raises his children hoping to be smart, but I have been deceived by being smart all my life. I only hope that my children will be foolish and carefree, and that they will be able to serve as ministers without any disaster." The word "smart" in the poem, in addition to In addition to the meaning of "talented and intelligent", it should also mean "sensitive".
There is no doubt that Su Shi was an extremely sensitive person. Otherwise, he would not have achieved such outstanding achievements in poetry, lyrics, prose, calligraphy, and painting. Only because of his sensitivity can he have a belly full of inappropriate things and a mouth full of laughter and curses. Su Shi himself was aware of this, but because of his nature and his own principles of life, he could never change it. He once said: "With a secret concern for the country and love for the people, since he was a minor official, he liked to arbitrarily discuss the government affairs. He was repeatedly convicted of this. However, he was ordered by heaven and could not change everything." ("Bian Jia Yi La Ping Zha Zi") ") He also said: "Shi used language and writing to gain knowledge in the world throughout his life, and he also used it to make trouble for others... He often wanted to burn his pen and inkstone and became a silent person, but his habits and karma were not eradicated." ("Reply to Cao Shu of Liu Miandu") Humor is probably Su Shi's panacea for resolving the ups and downs in his life, and has a significant anesthetic effect.
The third is public relations. Su Shi has been a shining literary star in the Song Dynasty since his youth. Wherever he went, he was surrounded and followed by a group of people who loved poetry. "Dongpo Zhilin" records his visit to Lushan Mountain. There is this sentence: "When I saw the monks and laypeople in the mountain, they all said: 'Su Zizhan is here!'" The lively scene of being surrounded is no less than that of today's first-line idols. Send showbiz stars. Su Shi was a person who was passionate about worldly life, and he was also a person who could take things as they came. Whether in officialdom or in entertainment, he could talk and laugh happily and be contented. Although Su Shi's official career was very bumpy and he suffered all the hardships of displacement, he always lived among the crowd. Therefore, for Su Dongpo, humor was both a popular virtue and an indispensable skill.
I mentioned three things, all of which are due to Su Shi himself. If we enlarge our horizons, we have to say: The reason why Su Shi was so humorous, laughing and scolding was directly related to the relative freedom of speech in the Song Dynasty and the royal ancestral precept not to kill literati indiscriminately. If he had lived during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Su Shi probably wouldn't have been so outspoken.